Albury & District Historical Society

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Albury & District Historical Society

The Albury & District Historical Society was founded in 1960 to play a part in the preservation of t

24/04/2026

The plaque recognising action by the Albury Battery defending the French town of Noreuil. For a video description of the Battle of Noreuil and a message from the Mayors of both Noreuil, France and Albury, go to Albury & District Historical Society’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDzIPypinJegksrO-l2ssVg. Lest We Forget.

17/04/2026

An AI sharpened image of Charles Schmiedt’s Albury Hotel on the south side of Dean street, west of Kiewa street. Schmiedt started in the Bridge Hotel near the Union Bridge (the derelict building remains there in 2026). He moved to the Albion before building his Albury Hotel, opened in November 1876 to a design by John Gordon, the hotel contained 15 rooms. Within twelve months, new rooms were added to cater for the Albury Club which had selected the hotel as its home. In 1882 stabling and “commodious sampling rooms for use by commercial travellers” were provided. The Albury Club moved to their own premises in 1883 and Schmiedt added a second storey to the hotel’s single storey section. The hotel license was moved to the New Albury Hotel in 1939.

10/04/2026

'Albury's Historic Riverside' - the Murray River at Albury is a much loved place for locals and visitors to come together. But it is much more than a peaceful and restful place. Why is the river of such significance to the people of Albury? What significance does the place hold for First Nations people? You will find some answers to these questions in this 36 minute video - go to https://youtu.be/mahRv5RCRMw

27/03/2026

Albury’s Union Bridge. The first bridge was opened with lots of ceremony on September 2, 1861. The building contractors were local businessmen, Americans William Brickell and Adam Kidd, the contract price £7,046. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/264149304
In the ‘Then’ photo, the wooden trusses and piers of the original 1861 bridge can be seen behind the second Union Bridge, under construction in 1898. The contractors for the second bridge were J B and W Farquharson, the contract price £6668. It had wooden trusses and decking and steel piers. The bridge opened with very little ceremony in December 1898. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/99977464
The third and existing Union Bridge was opened in April 1961.

20/03/2026

The ‘Then’ photo is from the early 1950s. Canns had by then been a popular drapery store in Dean street for many years. The store pictured opened in September 1952 after their original store was destroyed by fire in October 1951.
Next to Canns is the George Hotel. The George commenced trading in Dean street in April 1878. It was remodelled and rebuilt in 1938.
Further along the street is Town Hall Hotel which opened in 1881. It changed hands several times before closing in 1962 and its license was transferred to the Astor Hotel-Motel in Young street.
The T&G insurance building (Temperance and General) was completed in 1940.
Just across the AMP Lane is the AMP insurance building. It is the third AMP building on the site – the first was destroyed by fire in 1885, the second opened in 1886 and was knocked down for the current building which opened in July 1941.

13/03/2026

Alfred Ernest Wood and his brother J B Wood practised as dentists in Albury for much of the first half of the 20th century. The practice was at 484 Dean street, the site now of the Green Zebra. After A B Wood died, J B Wood moved the practice from these premises in Dean street across the railway line to Parkinson street. On the right hand side of the ‘Then’ photo the verandah of Dihood’s Drapery store is visible, now replaced by the Commonwealth Bank.

27/02/2026

Looking north in Kiewa street in about 1920. Left to right: Blacklock’s Theatre Royal (later the Palais Royal), opened in May 1914, demolished about 1980.
Fred Blacklock was a proprietor of the Albury Cycle Agency in the early 1890s. He opened on this Kiewa street site in December 1910, selling bicycles and motor cycles. In late 1913 he took on the Ford motor car agency (see https://alburyhistory.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Frederick-Blacklock.pdf)
On the corner with Dean street was the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney (built as the Australian Joint Stock Bank in 1877) and the Globe Hotel, opened in 1860.
In the 'Now' photo, the New Albury Hotel was opened in 1938 after the license was transferred from the Albury Hotel in Dean street.

20/02/2026

A photo from a 1940 booklet and captioned “the Horseshoe Lagoon near Howlong Road.” The Howlong Rd (Riverina Highway??) heads off to the west.

13/02/2026

806 Mate St North Albury, The sign outside in the ‘Then’ photo reads Bannon & Glen Service Station - note the five petrol pumps selling more than one brand. The house at left in the background is still there behind the trees. The ‘Now’ photo has the premises for “Sale or Lease.” The most recent business on the site was Mr Stoves Pool World.
In 1949 council approved the application of Bannon and Glen to build a concrete factory costing £150 on the corner of Mate and Bellevue streets. The ‘Border Morning Mail’ reported in February 1949 that the firm stated it was moving “to Albury from Melbourne and Tumbarumba to establish an engineering centre for repair and maintenance of their bulldozers and other equipment.”
One year later it was reported that “Work of cutting surveyors’ tracks into the mountainous country around Greg Greg and Khancoban, in connection with the Snowy River hydro-electric scheme, is being carried out by Albury firm of Bannon and Glen, Mate st.”
The firm sold in May 1952 to Mr E Gregory. The BMM noted that “Gregory Motors have acquired the Rover Car agency, and are, as well, district agents for Land Rover and David Brown tractors.”

24/01/2026

Map of Albury 1859, go to https://alburyhistory.org.au/resources/downloads/

23/01/2026

A 1940 map of Albury with a good perspective on the extent of Albury in 1940. The map comes from a booklet published by Ecker’s Globe Hotel. Born in Austria, Joe Ecker bought the entire Globe Hotel freehold in 1935 for £30,000. Ecker spent considerable money to modernise the hotel and the family held the license until 1945.
More information can be found in Howard Jones’ book “The Globe Hotel, Such a Nice Place.” Available for sale an Albury LibraryMuseum, $15.

16/01/2026

Looking south east from above Wyse St in the early 1940s. Many of these houses are still there. In the background: CML Building, T&G Building, Post Office, New Albury Hotel.

Address

PO Box 822
Albury, NSW
2640

Website

https://www.alburyhistory.org.au/

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